Chapter 71 — The Kui Ox
劍問蒼天 · Page 1 of 6
As if all at once, a deluge of rain came drifting down from the pitch-black night sky, and far out in the depths of the sea, fierce gusts of wind, like beasts breaking free of their cages, roared toward this lonely little island in the boundless ocean.
The wind drove the rain before it, sweeping over everything in a single engulfing wave, and in the blink of an eye these people were caught in the storm.
Zhang Qingyue stopped with the rest of them, raising a hand to fend off the urgent wind and rain as best he could; the drops, each the size of a soybean, struck his face with a sting that was already faintly painful.
Ahead, the sea heaved and churned beneath the storm; on this night it too seemed a giant beast woken from slumber, beginning to roar.
Before Zhang Qingyue and the others stretched a long beach, and at its far end lay the sea, now wearing a somewhat savage face. In the boundless dark of night, wave upon wave rose higher and higher, pounding heavily on the flat sand, and with every blow the very ground seemed to shudder.
One wave, and another!
As if some vicious giant beast were treading the surging billows, striding slowly toward them!
The vault of heaven stood silent, save for the muffled thunder that would not cease from within the black clouds.
Every face changed color. Such was the majesty of heaven and earth!
Tian Lingsu turned to Song Dayi in alarm: "Eldest Senior Brother, what do we do? What is that thing?"
Song Dayi was shaken as well; never in all his days had he seen such a sight, and for a moment he knitted his brows, at a loss. Zhang Qingyue, standing behind, was startled too, but because he had once seen the ancient demon beast, the Blackwater Mystic Serpent, rise from the Sea of Heartlessness beneath the Abyss of the Dead, he kept somewhat calmer. Yet remembering the serpent's might that day—a force no mortal could withstand—he could not help but feel a chill.
At that thought something stirred in Zhang Qingyue, and he glanced unconsciously at Lu Xueling beside him. The beautiful woman stood silently at his side, the wind and rain soaking her clothes and her hair, which clung to her fair face, as she gazed fixedly at the dark depths of the sea ahead, lost in a daze.
"Eh?" Suddenly Du Biyan, who stood in front, gave a cry and jabbed a finger forward. "Look there, all of you—there seem to be people!"
They all started and looked; sure enough, on the beach some dozens of yards ahead, several dozen figures had abruptly emerged from the darkness, all in black, and in the night, unless one looked closely, they were hard indeed to make out. Du Biyan, sharp-eyed as ever, had been the one to spot them.
But spotting them was one thing; at that moment the storm was sweeping down from every quarter, and the night was heavy, so they could not make out at all what those figures were doing. They only dimly saw them scatter and busy themselves across the beach.
Tian Lingsu frowned and turned her head. "Did you all see clearly? Who are these people?"
Du Biyan and Song Dayi shook their heads at once; then Lu Xueling, behind them, spoke suddenly: "They are all from the demon cult!"
Tian Lingsu started, then understood. At this moment every Orthodox sect on Liubo Mountain was locked in battle with the demon cult—how else could these dozens of men be gathered on this strange beach doing such things?
The more she thought, the more anxious she grew, and she could not help glancing back; yet of those demon cult followers who had been fighting just moments ago, not one had come out of the forest.
"What do we do, Eldest Senior Brother?"
Every eye fell on Song Dayi. He hesitated a moment, and at last decided to withdraw for the time being. "Our position is bad. Let us leave this place first and talk later."